Mr. McCain (for himself,
Mr. Kyl, Mr.
Hatch, Mr. Lee, and
Mr. Barrasso) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources

A BILL

To preserve the multiple use land management policy in
the State of Arizona, and for other purposes.

1.

Short
title

This Act may be cited as
the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity
Act of 2011.

2.

Findings

Congress finds that—

(1)

over the past 20
years, a form of low-impact, safe, and environmentally responsible underground
breccia pipe uranium mining has been conducted in northern
Arizona, particularly in an area located beyond the northern boundaries of the
Grand Canyon National Park known as the Arizona Strip;

(2)

according to
United States Geological Survey estimates, the Arizona Strip—

(A)

has the potential
of becoming the second most important uranium-producing region in the United
States; and

(B)

contains
approximately 375,000,000 pounds of high-grade uranium ore with the energy
equivalent of 13,000,000,000 barrels of oil, which is approximately the
quantity of recoverable oil originally found in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska;

(3)

in 1984, during
the last uranium boom, Congress enacted the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 (16
U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 98–406), which—

(A)

is recognized as
a historic compromise between environmental and uranium mining interests;
and

(B)

affirmed the
continued multiple use management of Federal land on the Arizona Strip that was
not designated as wilderness by that Act;

(4)

continued
development of resources on the Arizona Strip would significantly boost
economic growth in the area, provide for permanent well-paying jobs, and serve
as a source of revenue to the Federal Government and State and local
governments;

(5)

on July 21, 2009,
the Department of the Interior published a notice entitled Notice of
Proposed Withdrawal and Opportunity for Public Meeting; Arizona (74
Fed. Reg. 35887), which—

(A)

proposed the
withdrawal of approximately 1,000,000 acres of Federal locatable minerals in
northern Arizona from the location of new mining claims over concerns that the
uranium mining could impact the Grand Canyon watershed; and

(B)

made no mention
of the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 98–406)
or the resource management plans that have governed mineral resource
development on the Arizona Strip; and

(6)

the February 2011
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed withdrawal determined
there is no conclusive evidence from well and spring sampling data that
modern-day breccia pipe uranium mining operations in the northern portion of
the Grand Canyon region has impacted the chemical quality of groundwater in the
regional-aquifer.

Except by express
authorization by Congress referencing this section and notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior shall not extend, renew,
or issue a notice of segregation or withdrawal of the public land and National
Forest System land (including a portion of the land) described in Public Land
Order 7773 (76 Fed. Reg. 37826 (June 28, 2011)).

(b)

Effect of
notice

Any notice of
segregation or withdrawal of the land described in subsection (a) shall have no
legal effect.